IF HE/SHE PARTICIPATED IN ANY MILITARY OPERATIONS, INCLUDING COMBAT, HUMANITARIAN AND PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, PLEASE DESCRIBE THOSE YOU FEEL WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TO HIM/HER AND, IF LIFE-CHANGING, IN WHAT WAY.
On September 19, the regiment went into position in the Argonne Forest and on September 21 the entire sector was turned over to American troops, leaving only the front line occupied by the French, so that the Germans might not know that the Americans were taking up these positions. It was impossible to force the men to believe that they were again in a front-line position, for this was a "quiet sector." There was no sound of small-arms firing. The only sound was that of heavy artillery pieces in the distance and that only infrequently. Colonel Fred B. Inglis at this time took over command of the regiment. On September 21, orders were issued for an attack and everything was placed in readiness. Every endeavor was made to get the reginient properly equipped, but supplies were not sent up. On the eve of the greatest battle in which this regiment was engaged and possibly one of the greatest battles of the war, the regiment moved into position unsuitably equipped. Only an insufficient amount of flares and signal lights were obtainable, while one battalion actually moved into position with only two automatic rifles to the entire battalion, (hie of which was damaged beyond repair. Some men did not even have rifles and it was necessary to say to these men, "Pick up a rifle from the first man you see killed or wounded."
The regiment moved into position on the night of September 25, attacking at 5:30 a. m. of the next day. The men afterwards were told that a heavier preparatory artillery fire never had been given infantry, and that statement may well be believed. From midnight, when the fire began, until the following day, when our troops had advanced so far that the artillery was forced to cease firing, the noise was deafening.
On September 26 at 4 a. m. came those battleships of the land, the tanks, and with them, at 5:30 a. m., over the top went the Americans. A five-hour barrage had opened the way, the main body of the enemy fleeing before the deadly onslaught, leaving only rear guards to retard the ever-advancing Yanks. These rear guards were either killed or captured. In the afternoon another advance was made, the objective being a German trench on the edge of a wood.
The fighting in the fog had caused many men to become separated from their companies, but with the conspicuous adaptability for which the Americans are noted, they instinctively attached themselves to other leaders. At four o'clock in the afternoon the battalion was sent to the rear and reorganized. Delighted comrades greeted men believed lost, as they rejoined their own companies, through the process of reorganization.
When the troops had moved forward at 5:30 a. m. behind a smoke screen, everything was in desolation. Great trees were blown down, enormous craters might be seen everywhere, while all semblance of buildings and fortifications had been erased. Practically no resistance was met from the enemy during the day, but the advance was slow, due to the intense fog created by the smoke screen and the absolute necessity for liaison.
At the end of the first day the regiment occupied a trench system due west of Varennes. Here for the first time it began receiving machine gun fire from the left flank and left rear, the division on the left not having advanced. The morning of September 27 the attack was continued on Montblainville, and on September 28 and September 29 the large German Red Cross hospital and the town of Apremont were captured. Colonel Inglis having been relieved, Major Gregory was now in command of the regiment. The regiment's losses in this action were most heavy, as its left flank was exposed continually and the enemy was firing on it from the Argonne Forest on the left flank and the left rear. From this point the actions of the iioth and 109th Infantries were so closely allied that no distinction can be made between the two, both being used as one unit by the brigade commander. Lieutenant Colonel James A. Shannon, of the 112th Infantry, now relieved Major Gregory, but returned two days later to the 112 th as commanding officer.
(Pennsylvania in the World War. An illustrated History of the Twenty-Eigth Division, Chicago: States Publications Society, 1921, page 348-350)
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